What's the rush?

Last evening my wife and I went for a drive to her favorite ice cream place. We had to cross a marked Rail Road Crossing; it is decked out with flashing lights and the automated crossing gate that lowers when the train approaches.
When we got to the crossing the lights were flashing red and the gates were coming down; of course we stopped BUT a Mercedes going the opposite way went around the gates as they were coming down.
My wife and I watched in disbelief as this idiot (sorry, to be PC it's Mr. Idiot) drove around the lowering gates while the red lights were flashing and the train approaching . Thankfully the Mercedes made it across the tracks in time and the train barreled through.
What is wrong with people?

That should be MR IDIOT.

Jeez Elliot - you're describing over half of today's New England drivers!

When my dad was teaching me to drive (cars, not oxen ...) he gave me two rules:

1. Assume that half of the drivers on the road are drunk, and

2. The others are totally out of their mind.

Tom M.

NutmegCT said:

Jeez Elliot - you're describing over half of today's New England drivers!

When my dad was teaching me to drive (cars, not oxen ...) he gave me two rules:

1. Assume that half of the drivers on the road are drunk, and

2. The others are totally out of their mind.

Tom M.

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Hmmm..... He could have had Connecticut plates :rolleye:

"Sometimes you beat the train. Sometimes the train beats you."

Bayless said:

"Sometimes you beat the train. Sometimes the train beats you."

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And sometimes you're the Bug..... And sometimes you're the windshield

Just plain stupid. What is the rush? If going someplace leave early, you'll get there on time if something blocks the highway. I out ran a steam locomotive and crossed tracks in front of it just to get a picture. Had enough distance to get out of car adjust camera and get picture. Never did it again. You will loose a fight with a train, you cannot tell how fast they are moving.

And that's why they made films like this:

Don't know how to imbed, but look at this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpP7gMPzC78

HealeyRick said:

And that's why they made films like this

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That explains it. It was an old person that drove an Austin Healey in his youth :highly_amused:

Many years ago we decided to go for an evening summer drive in the BJ8. Loaded our Lab on to the back tray and my wife held her on a short leash. She liked to ride and would lay down on the tray.
We came to a crossing with the crossing gate down and lights flashing. Someone coming the other way in a small PU was in a hurry and drove around the gate. The train took everything in front of the radiator clean off the front as if it had been cut with a knife.
After the train had passed it appeared as if the gentleman had stayed at a happy hour too long. He was very, very lucky to have survived.

I lived in Fresno California for a number of years. It has two sets of railway tracks miles apart running North to South with more than 10 trains a day ( do not really know ) it just seamed I always had to wait at one gate or another for them each day. Going around gates was common some times trains would hold up cars as they added or let rail cars off. A large number of times people did the wrong thing around the gates Example fast train passing a parked train at roadway. They never knew it was coming. Kids standing as close to moving train or next to tracks. Some lesson never learned. One bad case was an older person past a line of cars on right shoulder and almost made it around the gates another lesson lost to rush Madflyer